The Hat Dilemma

“What kind of hat should I wear in LA?” I felt kind of silly asking the question but I wanted a second opinion for my upcoming weekend trip to Hermosa Beach.

My coworkers Annie* and Kevin* looked at me blankly while I continued, “Is it okay to wear a straw hat?”

Annie half-rolled her eyes and laughed, “Straw hat? No. Wear a baseball cap.” I trusted her fashion advice but in the end I still went with what I thought was the wiser choice (straw hat, in case it’s not clear). I had bought the hat a few years ago in Southern California when I got heat rash from being in the sun for too long, so I wanted to be smart and play it safe.

As someone who lives by the motto “don’t be awkward,” it was a difficult decision to make. The straw hat was the epitome of uncool-ness, and I had worked so hard to come across as a cool, sociable guy who’s normal and not weird…how was I supposed to do that wearing a straw hat?

Despite not knowing the answer to that question, I bit the bullet and wore the straw hat for basically the whole weekend. Although I did see several other people wearing similar hats, I still felt ridiculous the whole time…I mean, I might as well be wearing one of those rice paddy farmer hats.

Bottom line, though, the hat worked even if it was uncool. The sun in SoCal is no joke, and the straw hat was clutch in limiting my sun exposure for the weekend; I also didn’t get heat rash or sunburns.

I’m wondering this week if the straw hat is a metaphor for all the other uncool things in my life that I don’t do but should. I think I have a lot more counter examples that should NOT be done or said (obviously from other people…maybe a future blog post topic), but I welcome the opportunity to talk about what the other straw hats might be.

What are the straw hats in your life?

Caption: Two cool guys and me…not sure how much the hat has to do with it but I’m sure it’s a lot.

* Annie/Kevin: not their real names